Advices for a two week roadtrip thru the South

[Mississippinorwegian]

After living in Mississippi for 6 years, and now currently residing back in Norway, im finally getting to show my husband this great country of yalls.
Were flying to New York and my first thought was to rent a car and drive down south. A three-four day stop in Columbus MS is required so that we can see my family, but I would also like to show him New Orleans.

We have two weeks to spend on the whole trip, and im worried that it just wont be enough time...

Do anyone here have any good tips or advise..?? It would be much apreciated;-)
I really need this trip to be a success, and I feel obligated to show him the beauty of the south!!!
Cant wait to drink sweet tea, and have some real southern food...

Kristen

[glc]

Welcome!

If it helps with your planning, it's a 2 day drive from NYC to Columbus, taking the fastest Interstate highways. It's a 1 day drive from Columbus to NO, then a 2.5 day drive from NO back to NYC.

So - without sightseeing, plan on 6 days of driving. This gives you 8 days to play with to spend in Columbus, NO, and spending extra time on the drive for scenic detours. This looks quite doable, but it will have to be planned fairly carefully.

[AZBuck]

Velkommen, Y'all! Welcome aboard the RoadTrip America Forums!

The South will do just fine at presenting its charms to your visitors as long as you let them see and experience it at a pace that befits it. And that pace is as laid back as a southern drawl. This is a trip that shouldn't be rushed, and fortunately it looks like you have the time to do it justice. Take 5 or 6 days for the drive down from New York to Columbus. Plan on driving no more than 200-300 miles a day and break those up by stopping for a relaxed visit at some of the South's most inviting places. Just as one possible example of such an itinerary, You could spend successive days in/at Washington, DC (or Annapolis and Mount Vernon), Monticello outside Charlottesville, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Chattanooga, and finish with FDR's Little White House and Callaway Gardens near Warm Springs Georgia all 'on the way' to Columbus. Each day would be another adventure in southern history, architecture, charm and ambience taken at a very southern pace.

Then, from Columbus to New Orleans, you could take a similar journey by first heading west to Mathiston and using the Natchez Trace Parkway all the way to the Mississippi, spend a day or so touring some of the old plantations in Natchez, and then head down river through Baton Rouge to New Orleans.

AZBuck

[Mississippinorwegian]

Im taking my Norwegian husband for a two week road trip in June/July.
We are flying to New Orleans and as of today we were thinking of a roadtrip that would take us to Destin-Atlanta-Memphis-Columbus, MS (to see my family) and then flying out of New Orleans and back to Norway.

I would be so happy if any of yall had any advice to give us, we both like to make plans as we go but we really want to get off the highways and rather drive the backroads. And although there are some big cities on the intinerary I would want him to experience some of the rural USA.

And, food is one of the things that is most important to both of us so if anyone know of a place we must eat at, even if it means a detour, it will be mutch appreciated!!

Kristen

Moderator Note: Even though the details have evolved, we prefer if you keep all questions about the same trip in the same thread.

[CrossCountry2011]

I've lived in the south all my life, and I definitely think 2 weeks is enough if you're just hopping around from city to city, sightseeing. Atlanta has a lot to do- in fact, all of Georgia does. I've taken the Tennessee to Florida trip many times, and you don't go to far without finding some kind of music or Civil Rights museum.

Atlanta:

- CNN center. It's huge and pretty amazing! Whether you have any interest in broadcasting or not, it's pretty cool to see where it all goes down. From what I remember the tour wasn't incredibly expensive and probably took about an hour, which included getting to see some of the news desks and learning about how a green screen and reporting the weather works.

- the aquarium. I haven't been, but I've heard it's pretty amazing. I know someone who went, and they loved it. I think it's kind of known for having a long wait, but I'm sure it's worth it!

- museums. You might want to do research on this based on your interests, whether that be historical, musical, pop culture, or whatever. They have the Coca-Cola museum there, which is pretty cool.

- home of the Atlanta Braves. If you have time seeing a baseball game there would be lots of fun!

Memphis:

- Graceland. Of course. The tour might be pretty expensive, but if you're a big Elvis fan it'll be worth it.

- the Lorrane Motel, Memphis, where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot. There is also the Civil Rights Museum.

- Sun Studio Records, proclaimed by their website as "the birthplace of Rock N' Roll". You can do a tour there, and it's just a really exciting place to get to visit- especially if you're a rock n' roll fan!

- Beale street. Lots of street vendors, restaurants, cheesy souvenir shops.

Memphis has been at major risk of flooding lately. I don't know how long this will last, but you might want to double check on that just in case. Memphis is also one of the most dangerous cities in the country, and I don't mean to scare you away (I've been there many times and never saw anything too crazy) but like with any major city, just be cautious of your surroundings.

I can't believe Nashville's not on your list! :) It's kind of like, Memphis is to rock n' roll what Nashville is to country music. Of course, I know these cities very well and most people there could care less about Elvis or country music, but it's still fun to be apart of the history of it all!

I don't know anything about Columbus, MO, but I know that not too far north of there is a town called Marceline, MO, which is where Walt Disney grew up. It seems like a pretty amazing place to get to visit. If you're a Disney fan I would definitely stop by there!

As far as food goes, Memphis is known for its Barbeque, and there's a lot of debate about which place is the best. You might want to do some research and look at some 'best of' lists, but Central Barbeque is really good- and award winning!

If you're a fan of Loretta Lynn her ranch is probably an hour east of Memphis as you head towards Nashville. I've never been there, but it's probably an interesting place to visit if you're into her music.

If you're willing to make a big detour to Nashville (you so should!) it is home of too many famous places to name. From country music to Civil War to presidents to food to entertainment there is a ton of stuff to do in that city. As far as food goes, check out the Loveless Cafe and the Pancake Pantry.

If you do go to Nashville, Franklin, TN is a nice city to visit. It's just outside of Nashville. It has a nice historic downtown area and is a very pretty city to visit.

As far as rural areas goes, there's plenty of that in West Tennessee and Western Kentucky as well. Even if you're on the interstates it all looks like the middle-of-nowhere most of the times. But you'll probably have to find some good country highways to see the actual country life.

Based on Mapquest it looks like you would take 78 out of Atlanta to head towards Memphis, or you could throw in a huge detour and just tour a lot of Tennessee by taking I-75 towards Chattanooga and the Smoky Mountains (a beautiful drive!!). Chattanooga is a really pretty city with a lot of fun stuff to do. Well, I remember it being fun when I was 7 years old, I'm not really sure what is there now! But it would be worth a visit! If you do take 78, keep in mind the damage Alabama had from the tornados this spring. I'm not exactly sure how far that stretched or how it is now, but it was really, really tragic. I'm sure if won't get in the way of interstate driving, but it might be something to keep in mind as far as finding places to stop goes.